First Presbyterian Church, Norfolk, VA

First Presbyterian Church, Norfolk, VA Session Meeting Minutes – November 18, 2013

The Session met with new members at 6:00 pm in Room 206. Valena Hoy opened the meeting with prayer, and the following persons were examined and welcomed into membership: Jamie Colwell Ed Lee Bret Underwood Beth Kroll Rose Lee After prayer, a quorum was noted with the following members present: Carolyn Buzek, Karen Campo, Jim Dille, Jean Farrell, Ron Gates, Barbara Haga, Jon Mann, Jeanne Perin, Cline Reasor, Dick Roberts, Jim Slaughter, Lloyd Taliaferro, Laurie Talty, Eunice Whitehurst, Valena Hoy, Jim Wood. Guests Lawrie Smith – A description of the Door Warden duties introduced Lawrie’s presentation about church security. His comments were based on a comprehensive course he took during his two year role in the capacity of FPC’s Door Warden. To summarize: Concerning security, FPC, with new cameras and reporting system, is doing well. The main area of improvement suggested by Lawrie is in communication between committees as to individual member’s skill sets so that resources within our congregation can best be utilized. Trustee Report Guest Steve Story represented FPC’s trustees in presenting the yearly report to Session. Richard Bray and Hal Barge, the other trustees, weren’t able to be in attendance. The highlights of the report:  The role of the church Trustees is to oversee the property and the financial investments (G-4.0101 of the Book of Order for the Presbytery)  FPC’s financial investments are managed by Palladium Investment Advisors.  The average annualized return on these restricted funds since 1982 is 9.01%  $1,873,829 has been disbursed to the designated ministries within the church over that same time period (31.75 years). Treasurer’s Report Treasurer Cline Reasor reported on the church’s finances and presented the following chart

 Revenue and expenses this year compared to last year

October 2012 October 2013 % Change (42 Sundays) (43 Sundays) Revenue $1,637,034.77 $1,659,686.68 1% increase Expenses $1,677,929.13 $1,659,741.24 1% decrease Net Total -$40,894.36 -$54.56

 2014 Stewardship Campaign Update in comparison to the 2013 Campaign 2014 Stewardship Campaign 10/30/13 11/6/13 11/13/13 11/20/13 11/27/13 12/6/13 12/11/13 12/18/13 166 197 208 $1,023,334 $1,142,200 $1,194,980

Final 12/06/13 2013 Stewardship Campaign 11/11/12 11/18/12 11/25/12 12/3/12 12/10/12 12/17/12 12/27/12 2013 YE 209 220 228 247 267 279 283 287 $1,131,579 $1,207,414 $1,231,944 $1,315,544 $1,372,304 $1,395,504 $1,404,984 $1,423,784

21 Decreased -$25,269 No Previous 33 Pledge $86,480 84 Increased $87,942 70 Same Outstanding 68 Pledges $546,159 Contributors w/o a 104 Pledge  Preschool Update

o Expenses for FPC’s preschool have been under budget o Unplanned vacancies contribute to the preschool continuing to run at a deficit, but only as predicted by the budget. Music Task Force Report Guests Walter Ear, Mark Hugel, Kathy Stine, Darlene Tabbanor, and Ken Vinson joined the Session at this point in the meeting to present their report concerning FPC’s Contemporary Service.  Mark provided the back ground and desired outcomes for the work of the Task Force o Increased attendance at the Contemporary service o Deeper spiritual experience for those attending  Then Mark iterated the primary challenges presented because Dave Edwards, who is on contract as our Contemporary Worship Leader, travels here from Ohio for the weekends and therefore isn’t on site during the week: o Lack of sufficient collaboration since he isn’t present for staff meetings o Limited utilization of congregation members’ talents because practice is limited to Saturday o Decreased opportunity for being part of the church community/family

 A meeting with the worship team reinforced the above concerns.  The Task Force asked David if he would be willing to move here as he has said he would do, but he declined.  The recommendation of the Task Force is to allow Dave Edwards’ contract to end on December 31, celebrate the gift of his talent and time by holding a reception for him on December 15th, and extend to him the last two Sundays of December as vacation.

After discussion and questions, the following motion was offered, seconded, and approved unanimously : Motion: To approve the Music Task Force recommendation to allow Dave Edward’s contract with FPC to end December 31, 2013 and offer him the last two Sundays in December as vacation time.

Session members expressed their appreciation for all the energy and hours put in by the Task Force. Clerk Communications & Report Final 12/06/13  October 23, 2013 PEVA Digest -- attached

 January 25, 2013 (Saturday) – PEVA Stated Meeting at First United PC, Norfolk, 745 E. 29th St. 23504 (Near the Norfolk Zoo), 1:00-5:00pm

Consent Agenda This month’s Consent Agenda was ordered by Common Consent, after the motion from Personnel concerning the consulting proposal was pulled so it could be discussed. Pastor’s Reports Valena Hoy  Valena expressed gratitude for the extra hours of work done by Joy Hickey, Becky Pinkard and Linda Davenport, who have picked up much of the duties of the Minister of Administration.  Marcia’s leaving staff has contributed to the added load for other staff members.  Valena and Session members expressed thankfulness that Jim returned safely. Jim Wood  Kenya Pilgrimage – Jim told the group that by the end of the month, the number of children in the Joy Home will be 40, being cared for and loved by five “moms”.  Work at Cradock is going well. Personnel  First on the docket for Personnel was discussion of the consulting proposal submitted by Jeff Schulte from The Sage Hill Institute. Mr. Schulte has 29 years of experience building churches and non-profits and equipping the leaders who lead them. He graduated from Yale with a major in Organizational Behavior and has a Th.M and M.Div. from Western Seminary. His proposal is to provide: o A two-day consultation for a minimum $1500 donation to The Sage Hill Institute plus travel expenses. o Based on input from Senior Pastor Jim Wood, he will allocate his time according to the specific needs of the church. o His purpose as stated in the proposal: “As an objective outsider, I would be a resource to assist you in the process of clarifying the kinds of changes needed organizationally and with specific personnel to move forward to accomplish the mission God has uniquely called and gifted FPC Norfolk to accomplish.” After comments and questions, the Session moved and seconded the following motion: Motion:. That Session approves the proposal to bring in Jeff Schulte with the Sage Institute to consult with FPC staff and leaders regarding leadership and organizational alignment and authorizes $5000 to cover the project. The motion passed unanimously.

 Also on the Personnel docket were hiring updates: o Adam Bova has been hired as our new Director of Media Ministries (replaces Ed Morris). o Marlon Toledo has been hired as our new Sexton (replaces Dave Wallace). o Kelsey Shanahan has been hired to work with the Youth. o As an addendum to the Ms. Shanahan’s hire, the following was moved, seconded and passed unanimously: Motion: To approve Ruthie Rand as a volunteer to lead a small group of girls from the youth o Gary Lennon has resigned, and a committee is in place seeking to find a replacement. Interviews begin November 22.

Final 12/06/13 o The Search Committee for Preschool Director has completed their interviews – decision will follow soon.  Finally, Barbara Haga presented a motion for approval: Motion: To approve a total of $10,000 to provide a one-time payment of $8,000 to Valena Hoy in recognition of the additional work and responsibility she has taken on in the fall of 2013, with an additional $2,000 authorized to cover any required payments for retirement contributions, etc. After Valena left the room, brief discussion was followed by unanimous approval of the motion. It was moved and seconded to adjourn at 8:40pm. After congregational concerns were brought forward, Jim Slaughter offered the closing prayer.

______Jeanette Perin, Clerk Rev.Jim Wood, Senior Pastor

Final 12/06/13